Stephen II of Serbia
Stefan II or
Stephen II, known afterwards as
Stefan Prvovenčani (lit. meaning: Stephen the first-crowned) or
Stefan II, Nemanja (Стефан Првовенчани, Стефан II, Немања) (d.
September 24 1228) was the ruler of the
Serbian state of
Raška who managed to promote it to the status of kingdom and to establish a long lasting ruling dynasty of
Nemanjić.
Stefan Prvovenčani was the second eldest son of the Grand
Župan
Stefan Nemanja, younger brother of
Vukan who ruled over
Zeta and older brother of
Rastko Nemanjić (known as Saint Sava) who became the founder of the independent
Serbian Orthodox Church. He inherited the title of Grand Župan in
1196 when his father retired as a monk.
His reign began with a struggle against Vukan, who expelled Stefan from Serbia with Hungarian support. Stefan turned to King
Kaloyan of Bulgaria, who gave him an army of
Cumans in exchange for eastern Serbian territories. The crisis ended when Sava negotiated a peace between the two brothers and Stefan's power was cemented.
Pope Honorius III granted him the title of the King of
Raška in
1217 resulted from his skillful diplomacy and persuasion. However, after Sava managed to gain an archbisphoric from
Patriarch of Constantinople Manuel I, he crowned Stefan as an Orthodox King of the Serbs in
1219 and the Catholic Church made no further gains in Serbia.
Stefan was married, about 1185–1187, to
Eudocia Angelina, youngest daughter of
Alexius Angelus and
Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamaterina. Eudocia was also niece of the current
Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelus. According to the Greek historian
Nicetas Choniates, Stefan and Eudocia quarrelled and separated, accusing one another of adultery, about 1198. They had two daughters, whose names are unknown, and four sons.
See also: List of Serbian monarchs -
History of Serbia*
Serb Land of Montenegro - The Sacronist Nemanjic Dynasty*
Serbian Unity Congress - Serbian Medieval History - Rulers of the Land*
History of the Serb People - the Latin Empire and the creation of the Serb Kingdom by
Vladimir Ćorović (in
Serbian)
*
The Holy bloodline of Stephen Nemanya by
Željko Fajfrić (in
Serbian)
*
The Catholic Encyclopedia (1907) article at http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13732a.htm
*
A Concise Historical Atlas of Eastern Europe*
Ćorović, Vladimir (2005).
ИЛУСТРО'АНА ИСТОРИЈА СРБА, Book II, Politika.
*
The Serbian Unity Congress - Serbian Medieval History.
* Fajfrić, Željko.
Sveta loza Stefana Nemanje.
* CD Chilandar by Studio A, Aetos, Library of Serb Patriarchate and Chilandar monastery, Belgrade, 1998
* Intervju - "ИНАСТИЈЕ и владари јужнословенских народа. Special Edition 12, 16 June 1989.
* Markuš, Jovan.
Родослови династија из Зете и Црне "оре
